Jersey City considers turning Newark Avenue into pedestrian plaza

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A plan to close a section of Newark Avenue to vehicular traffic in order to turn it into a pedestrian plaza with more outdoor seating at restaurants and open-air events is being considered by the Jersey City City Council.

Downtown Councilwoman Candice Osborne introduced an ordinance Wednesday that would close the avenue from Grove Street to Barrow Street between the hours of 10 a.m. to midnight Monday to Friday and from noon to midnight Saturday and Sunday.

The ordinance would prohibit amplified sound or music and it also includes regulations on when deliveries can be made and garbage can be picked up on the stretch of roadway.

A separate proposed ordinance would change traffic patterns in the area in consideration of the one-block stretch of closed roadway. Osborne said the initiative is a one-year pilot plan.

“The pilot program will test if there is extra benefit to community residents and businesses of having the portion of the road closed down for day and evening hours as a pedestrian walkway,” she said.

“It will be measured in terms of making sure businesses are getting more business, resident quality of life is not negatively impacted but rather positively impacted.” If closure of the section of Newark Avenue does not prove beneficial, the ordinances would sunset after a year and the roads returned to current traffic patterns.

The companion ordinance would designate Barrow Street from Newark Avenue to Columbus Drive as a one-way street heading south. Bay Street from Newark Avenue to Erie streets would become a one-way street running east.

The Newark Avenue ordinance had been withdrawn at a previous meeting for further discussion.